October had been a difficult month for Shubman Gill. Expected to be one of the breakout stars of the ODI World Cup, the classy right-hander was forced to endure a frustrating wait after being laid low by dengue. Gill missed India’s first two matches, against Australia and Afghanistan, even spending time in a hospital in Chennai to address a low platelet count issue.
Such is the resilience of youth, though, that despite losing a few kilos, the 24-year-old was back in business on October 14, in the high-profile clash against Pakistan in Ahmedabad. After a couple of boundaries, he was dismissed for 16, in what would become the first in a series of unfulfilling personal outings. He did bring up a maiden World Cup fifty in the next game, against Bangladesh, but efforts of 26 against New Zealand and nine against England did little to help his mood.
No one else was fretting. There were not even token signs of concern from within the team or the think-tank about Shubman Gill. A tall score was round the corner; it was just a question of when and how much.
Those answers were provided on Thursday afternoon on an absolute shirtfront at the Wankhede Stadium. This was expected to be the stage for Rohit Sharma, the Indian captain, the local lad, the true-blue Mumbaikar, to flex his muscles and carry his excellent World Cup forward. Instead, Rohit was dismissed off the second ball of the match against Sri Lanka by Dilshan Madushanka, thrusting artificial pressure on Gill and Virat Kohli, the No. 3.
The first 30 minutes were quite challenging. There was some dampness in the surface, the admirable Madushanka and the wiry Dushmantha Chameera were asking uncomfortable questions. There was considerable lateral movement and disconcerting bounce from a length. All this would last only half an hour, it was public knowledge. But would India’s No. 2 and No. 3 last that length of time?
They almost didn’t. It took Gill nine deliveries to get off the mark, with a pulled four off Madushanka which was followed by a back-foot half-cut, half-punch that is unique to him. The crowd was buzzing, the adrenaline was flowing and so when Madushanka threw up a wide delivery, Gill reached out with his hands, hoping to spear it through the covers.
The ball flew to the left of cover point and Charith Asalanka, the little former Under-19 skipper, flung himself to his natural side and got both hands to it, only for it to burst through and harmlessly bobble away for a single. Gill should have been gone for eight, India 24 for two. Instead, he had been thrown a lifeline, and he grasped it gratefully, with both hands.
Gill is inherently an attacking batsman without seeming to appear so. He is a generous four-hitter, his great hands and immaculate timing propelling the little orb through the tiniest of gaps with tremendous speed. He makes batting look ridiculously easy, as if anyone can pick up the willow and make magic happen. That’s what the truly gifted do, make the most demanding of tasks appear so commonplace until one realizes that isn’t the case.
This afternoon, however, a different kind of Gill was on view. An accumulator. A man seeking time at the crease. Someone willing to graft it out, do the hard yards, go through the grind, with an eye on tomorrow rather than today. And so he glided along in Kohli’s wake, allowing the senior man, who himself was dropped on 10, to do the running. Gill wasn’t becalmed or strokeless, but unless he was sure that there wasn’t much risk involved, he didn’t play a stroke in anger. Soft hands allowed him to drop the ball and run furious singles with a willing Kohli and the odd boundary held the promise of more, but clearly, this was Gill batting well within himself.
Gradually, as he became more comfortable with his own game, the gears changed perceptibly. The batting was still risk-free, but the rate of scoring went up a notch. From the early 80s, his strike-rate closed in on 100, the boundaries coming a lot more freely. In the stands, more than 31,000 people couldn’t have enough of it; subliminal timing and aesthetic batting at both ends, wrists and hands and sparkling footwork combining to make for compelling viewing.
There aren’t too many who can match Kohli for style and substance when the former is on song, but then again, there aren’t too many like Gill. In the middle of a grand year where he has scored international hundreds in all formats, including a double-century in an ODI, Gill is the classic example of making a good thing count. Alongside his captain, he forms a formidable opening combination, though frighteningly from all oppositions’ perspective, the tandem hasn’t really got going as a pair in the World Cup and yet India are seven from seven. Their understanding is exemplary and they are opposites who revel in each other’s company, qualities India will be hoping to draw on as the tournament enters its business end.
That Gill first matched, and then shaded, Kohli came as no surprise. He is at once the present and the future of Indian batting and he reiterated just why on Thursday, with panache and elan in front of an audience that included Sachin Tendulkar, the master whose statue too graced the stadium.
Having breezed into the 90s and with more than 20 overs left, Gill must have sent panic waves through the Sri Lankan ranks. In January, he had smashed them to the tune of 117 during India’s ODI record 317-run win in Thiruvananthapuram, when the Lankans felt they had got off lightly. Now, with so much time left, surely another double was in the realms of the possible?
Fortunately for them, it wasn’t, not this time. Gill fell attempting an ambitious upper-cut off a Madushanka slower bouncer, hanging his head in disappointment before gathering himself and trudging off. His contribution in a stand of 189 with Kohli was 92 of the very best. One little box ticked, but a couple of big ones loom and those will be Gill’s next targets.
Shreyas Iyer’s blitz towards the end was a treat, as was Kohli’s 88. But the afternoon was about Gill and the route he took to a big score.
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